Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-06-14
CHAPLAIN JONATHAN FRYE AND
HIS LADY.LOvE. SUSANNA
ROGERS.

In ls0,eselIs Fight. pefished 90 The fe-
treat and MAS never sfter~srds heard ~.
says tha, the name 81 the eh.Plsin's lad! =
love Who wrote the ,lsey upon him has
not coma down to as. This Is an error.
The lsdy.lo,e In question was Susanna
Rogers. and mention Of her Ia connection
Nth her elesy upon the chaplain may be
found In Samuel l. Knspp'' ':I,seiurss
on American Literature. With Remarks
on some passages Of American History.
. work which vas Published as long sso
IS 1929. The slssy was tin, printed.
a. f.ruI kno~. In the Ne'e England
Historical aud Genealogical Register for
January. 1861. bsing communicated 10
,h., periodical by I. G. fpe. then Of
Ando,er. Mas. nov Of Mon, Clair. n.
y. The elesy has since ben pablished
in Frederic kiddsr's The Expeditions
Of Capt. John I.ovew,ll," aud IN cot
rup, and incomplete state. IN Sarah Lor.
ing Bailey. Historical Sketches Of An
dover" Mas"
In Introducing the slegy, 1. {. Frye
SAY. and hi. statement 10 repeated IN
Kidder. book and In the oxford County
Record article to which have refefr,d)
the, the Objections Of the ehsplsin's pa
nm. 10 bis ugsg,mttt TO Miss Rogers
w,ie on account of ivan, Of property
aud education" on her part. From this
u.ismtn, = person would gs, the idea,
As Mis-, Bailey evidently dos. 4. Is 10.
dica,,d by her saying that The chaplain
Eve. engaged TO be named TO young
sirl -hom hi. psrnis did no, regard
-i,l approval a. suited 10 him IN poin,
Of birth and fJsisns, that Miss Rogers
belonged TO . family Il low caste. bu,
such !. by TO means the case. Ga the
contrary. she b,lonssd 10 enc Of The b,s,
f.nili,. Ia The oolonir'; family which.
through r,v,rsl g,nsfsiion'. furnished TO
the New Enslahd churches some Of their
mo,, sble and godly ministers Not os-
" this. ia, according 70 mAry authorities.
l,ke point. ho-s,sr. ia d'paisd ohsl
.te ~a. d,,ocnd.b, from the historic
John Roger. Of Smi,hh'ld. the FIR, mar
tyr under the reign q bloody 0ae,n
Map; .rd there !. ,iill p',,sfvsd IN The
famil, TO Which she telongei Bible.
partly burned. -hieh u claimed 10 be tie
one ~hish the martyr tore 10 The stake
a. hi. execution.
Mi, Rog,r. father. ~ho boic the sane
name o. The martyr. graduated Al hsr.
ward College in 1905. Having adopted
The clerical profession. h. ~a. 'ei,l'd
Over The ehuieh ~ BNf,'d. Mas. n
1909. aud con'inu.j 10 pis,oh ihsis IN
al l5gJ. ~hsn b. retired from he active
dg,i.. u his p'o.r..loa Ss'inna. ~h1
va. HI, olde., child. va, blin June 2s,h.
i7il. % ths, when ,te wrote the elsgy
upon hsr -, lover 'hs was. a. stated by
SAMUEL l. Ka,PP and Sarah io'ins
Bailey in their books above mentioned.
Only IL years q sge. She had four
tru,hsr. and four sisters. and, tie family
being thu. large. /, Gee m' ~, improbable
,ha, her prospect. az regards property
~sre. q. I c. Frye says. uuprcmisirs.
cannot, hows,sf. bat regard - spocfy.
phAl Mr.. Frye, .,s,smsh, ihs, there wss
"wAn, q education" on her par, %
stand In the way o. match between her
and the eAspl.in. Her father VS.
oollsse.sdges,,d man. a. ! have said. and
became an able and prominsni clergy
man. and one q ksf brothers John, ~ho
~~ | 5 month. younger than .be.) ~As
also literally educated Graduating At
Harvard College Ia 1854 and. like bic
father, also became a. Able AID di.lin-
gui,hed minister Of the Gospel REARED
in the lap Of Chr"iaa culture a. Sasinns
thu, ~as, | esnno, believe ,hl, her edu.
cation -. Neglected. lntssd. the slssy
i,.elf negatives ,hi. idea. showing A. !,
doe. ,h., IL, author was 90; oaly rot spef-
son u ihisrior mental parts. ba. that she
possessed soo1 intellectual p3~si'. 70.
srihsr 9Th al education enabling Der 20
use them. far above the s,srsge for one
Of her years. Take =, random hun.
drrd girl. q II no, labVrirg under
the d,sdvasisse Of wan, q
education. and bow macy ofihem could
~iiie . .s,,b,y.t~o la- slesy u - good
. quality - "a. he on- -iiiisn by Mi.s
Rossr,' W, one IN A,e1rr lvsniuis to
say, and. II the fac, stand. thus. IL l.
impos,ible but thu, NJ. Roger. mus,
have betn A. least on sp.r. In education.
With the average q no, unsduea,ed girls
Of | I ., the present day.
would no, BE- Understood . making
the claim thu, Ter ,lssy upon her Loot
lover pcs,s.s,. high poetic merits. though
I ,hoald regard such = claim a. less IT,
dsisn,ible than Mi. B.ilsy'' remark con.
osrnipg !, the, i, may provoke A'mile
(If Ms. Bailey bal ia mind the MANNED
and muiils,ed version Of the elegy Which
she gives In her book. she bad some es-
ea.e for "a smile" Coz 10 make no men
ton Of numsroa. other defect. in the VET.
,ion which she siS,s, nine linss are omit
ted in one place sni one IN another. two
lines being thu. lsi, without correspond.
Ing ones 20 rhyme -i'h them. and no
his,u. mark. to .hos ,hs, the eou,'Pond-
ing rhyming lin,. have been omitted
Even Miss Bailey. however. 10 saying
,hA, ,ha, poriion Of the tlsgy whieh VAS
addressed to the ehaplsin's pA:snis 81.
certainly evidence Of hear, free from
malice add moved TO sympathy even with
those who scarcely acknowledged her
righ, to sympathy" bears testimony TO
Miss Rogers possession Of . cultivated.
refined and Chri.,isn 'piri,
Since writing the foregoing, ! have
found evidence Of a positive nature which
proves the accuracy Of the above spscula-
ton. regarding Mis-. R,g'r''s edaci'iln.
February 18th. i73j,-,bou, 10 years
after the death Of Ch,plain frye.-she
married DR.. Jacob Peabody Of Topsfsld,
Mass. subsequently, Of LeOmin',er. in
the same State. aud the positive evidence
TO which allude !. IN An article the
second Of three on The Peabody Fam
ily." by c. VI. Eadico,, Of Salem. Mass.
In the Ne0 England Historical and
Genealogical Register for October. lsiS.